Greeneville firehouse renovations aimed at community use

NORWICH — Renovations planned at the Norwich Fire Department’s satellite station in Greeneville are aimed at bringing firefighters closer to their neighbors.

Work on the 1896 station on North Main Street would improve the meeting space used by members of the Greeneville Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Committee.

“It ties the station into the community,” Norwich Fire Chief Kenneth Scandariato said. “Since Greeneville School has been closed, they need a home.”

The community group meets monthly at the fire station now, fire Lt. Scott Suplita said. “We pull an engine out, and they meet in the bay,” he said.

“We can’t wait to get in there,” Greeneville committee chairman Peter Procko said. “This room will be nothing but an asset for us.”

The fire department finished three previous renovation projects at the station, using Community Development Block Grant money. The projects made numerous improvements to the 117-year-old building, which was originally a police station.

“We made it a lot more efficient on the firefighters’ side,” Scandariato said. “We had to reinforce the floor to hold the trucks.”

Renovations also removed lead and asbestos from the old building. The brick façade was sandblasted, and the crumbling rear of the building was repaired, the heating system was replaced and a new bathroom was installed.

“We’re really proud,” Scandariato said.

Because the fire station has historic status — it’s the second-oldest firehouse belonging to a paid department in Connecticut — renovations require state approval and can’t significantly change its appearance, Scandariato said.

The planned renovations will transform two rooms now used mostly for storage located to the left of the bays on the first floor. One of them, a windowless, low-ceilinged room with concrete-gray walls, was the police station’s holding cells, Suplita said.

Sofee Noblick, a member of the City Council and the Greeneville NRZ committee, said the group hopes to use that room to display Greeneville photos and memorabilia, creating “the world’s smallest museum.”

The renovations will include work on their walls, ceilings, floors, electrical and lighting systems, Suplita said.

In August, the city received two bids from contractors. The low bid, from TAG Constructors LLC of West Hartford, was for $48,600. Scandariato said while the block grant was for less than $44,000, adjustments are being made so the project will be paid for.

“The funding is going to be ironed out very shortly,” he said. The chief said he hopes the project can be finished by Christmas.

The city likely will use contingency funds to make up the cost difference, Noblick said. She said she expects the project to be finished within the next 60 days.

“We’re pretty excited about it,” she said.

The station is staffed around the clock by three firefighters and houses two fire trucks. Its firefighters respond to fires and other emergencies in the Greeneville area and East Side of the city, from Burnham Square to Starrwood Market on Boswell Avenue, and east of the Shetucket River to the Preston line.

“When calls come in, and we’re having a meeting, it’s pretty interesting,” Procko said. “This is going to be a big, big help for us.”